Escort Convoy

In the original plot, one of the hard requirements for controlling the Seven Kill Stele was possessing cultivation at the sixth martial realm, the True Condensation Realm.

True Condensation Realm cultivators could transform their true qi into tangible true essence, granting them greater power and allowing them to withstand the Blood Fiend's impact.

At the same time, with true essence circulating through the body, they could control Blood Fiend Power more perfectly.

Chen Yuan had relied on the Divine-Artifact Avatar of Starshift to take a shortcut and gain control of the Seven Kill Stele, but now the side effects had come.

The Blood Fiend Power was far too overbearing. As soon as Chen Yuan activated it even slightly, his blood and qi would begin boiling uncontrollably, growing faster and faster until they started burning wildly out of control, continuing until his blood and qi were completely exhausted.

This was no longer Chen Yuan controlling the Blood Fiend Power. It was the Blood Fiend Power controlling Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan had tried suppressing it, but unfortunately, it was useless.

Now, after activating the Source of Killing Intent and drawing the Blood Fiend Power into his body, he could only last five breaths.

After five breaths, he had to use all his internal energy to suppress the Blood Fiend, withdraw the Source of Killing Intent, or the situation would spiral beyond control.

Moreover, Chen Yuan did not dare use the immensely powerful Bloodslaughter Heaven-Calamity Hand lightly.

The Bloodslaughter Heaven-Calamity Hand consumed an astonishing amount of Blood Fiend Power. After a single strike, Chen Yuan had to suppress it with all his strength, or his blood and qi would inevitably run wild.

Chen Yuan had gone to great lengths to seize the Seven Kill Stele. Of course, he had not done so just to become a five-second wonder.

He had to find a way to resolve this side effect.

After thinking it over, there really was a cultivation technique that could resolve it. It was located near the border of Youzhou, and he had a chance of obtaining it.

However, before going to obtain that cultivation technique, Chen Yuan still needed to seize a weapon. According to the plot's timeline, that would happen soon.

When he had fought Murong Qing before, Chen Yuan's Wild Goose Feather Saber had been easily shattered by the other's Dragon-Pattern Azuregold Sword. It had greatly affected his combat strength.

Aside from Divine Weapons and Demonic Arms, ordinary weapons were divided into the four grades of Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.

Chen Yuan's Wild Goose Feather Saber was an ordinary Yellow Tier weapon, the mass-produced kind.

Low-grade Yellow Tier weapons were ordinary steel blades, while high-grade Yellow Tier weapons were forged from refined steel.

Profound Tier weapons incorporated various rare materials to achieve different effects.

For example, they could increase sharpness, or certain materials could allow internal energy to flow into the weapon more smoothly.

Furthermore, every Profound Tier weapon was personally forged by a weaponsmith and was one of a kind.

Therefore, although Yellow Tier and Profound Tier weapons differed by only one grade, their prices in the martial world differed by more than a thousandfold.

After leaving the desolate mountains, Chen Yuan checked his bearings and headed straight for Yellow Dragon Post in southern Youzhou.

Youzhou lay in the north of Great Xia, with several official roads leading to the Central Plains.

Yellow Dragon Post was an unavoidable stop along one of those official roads to the Central Plains. Every day, many merchants, escort agencies, and martial world wanderers passed through.

Chen Yuan bought a horse midway, changed into a fitted black outfit, donned a conical hat, and wore his Wild Goose Feather Saber at his waist.

With this appearance, he looked like a standard, unremarkable martial world traveler.

After riding hard for three days, Chen Yuan arrived at Yellow Dragon Post.

Yellow Dragon Post stood beside the official road and covered a vast area. It consisted of three sections.

One was the main hall, where people ate, drank, and rested temporarily. It was large enough to accommodate several hundred people.

Behind the post's main hall stood rows of brick houses where passing merchants could stay.

Yellow Dragon Post also had a dedicated horse market. Some horses were reserved for court use, while others could be freely bought and sold.

Passing merchants who wanted to change horses would almost always do so at Yellow Dragon Post.

Chen Yuan dismounted and handed the reins to a waiter at the post entrance.

The waiter handed Chen Yuan a wooden token bearing a number and said with a smile, "Please keep this safe, sir. When you leave, bring the token to collect your horse and settle the fodder fee."

Chen Yuan raised a brow slightly. Yellow Dragon Post truly was prosperous.

If this waiter were in the modern world, would he not be a valet?

Chen Yuan pushed open the door to the post's main hall. The enormous room was like a bustling marketplace, its clamor nearly lifting the roof.

All kinds of people crowded around rough wooden tables. Some ate, some drank, and some gambled.

Accents from every corner mingled into a buzzing backdrop. The air reeked of sweat, animal stench, and cheap liquor, so pungent it made people dizzy.

When Chen Yuan entered, the people in the hall instinctively glanced at him.

But once they saw he was merely an ordinary martial world traveler, they all withdrew their gazes.

Chen Yuan found a secluded table, sat down, ordered several small dishes, and waited for someone to arrive.

He was not entirely certain when exactly this part of the plot would take place, but it should be within the next few days.

Chen Yuan ran a hand over the table and suddenly discovered quite a few blade marks on it.

Some of those marks even bore dark-red stains, clearly caused by blood seeping into the cuts and becoming impossible to wash away.

Countless travelers passed through Yellow Dragon Post every day, and all sorts of people mixed here. Fighting and even killing were as commonplace as daily meals.

Sometimes people fought after losing a gamble. Other times, a single disagreement was enough to start a fight.

While Chen Yuan was eating, he saw three groups start fighting.

However, these people were fairly disciplined.

The losers slunk away in disgrace, while the winners were responsible for paying compensation.

Chen Yuan waited at Yellow Dragon Post for five days. On the fifth day, a small escort convoy of only five people entered the main hall.

Seeing those five, Chen Yuan raised his brows slightly. They looked somewhat like the group he was waiting for.

This was not a particularly important minor plot point. Chen Yuan had fast-forwarded through it while reviewing the story, so he could not remember the exact number of people, but it should have been a small escort convoy.

If the subsequent developments were right, it should be them.

An escort convoy of five people was still quite rare in the martial world.

Normally, when an escort agency transported goods, there would be an escort chief leading the group and directing operations.

At the very least, two route scouts would be responsible for scouting ahead, one in front and one behind, supporting each other from afar.

Three or more escort guards would be responsible for protecting the cargo.

If there was a great deal of cargo, or if it was particularly large, they would also need to hire drivers and laborers to transport it.

Thus, an escort convoy needed at least a dozen people.

The escort chief leading this five-person convoy was a middle-aged man in his fifties. The other four were all young, including one woman, which was also rare in escort agencies.

Aside from the escort chief, each of the other four carried a case on their backs. Those should have been the goods they were escorting.

The convoy's escort chief looked around and, with great experience, chose a spot near the middle and toward the rear to sit.

The location looked conspicuous, but in truth, it allowed one to watch in all directions and hear everything. It was close to both the front and rear doors, allowing for the fastest possible reaction and escape if anything happened.

"Uncle Jin, I heard the roasted venison in Fujiang City is unmatched. We aren't far from Fujiang City. Could we take a slight detour and visit it?"

The female escort guard was only in her early twenties. She was pretty, youthful, and lively, wearing a black-and-red fitted outfit that outlined her tall, toned figure.

The remaining three escort guards were not very old either. One of them immediately said, "Qingqing, if you want to eat it, I'll treat you when the time comes. You can have as much as you want."

Uncle Jin frowned. "Eat, eat, eat! At a time like this, you're still thinking about food?

"If you, girl, hadn't been so blindly reckless and accepted the Lin Family's escort job on your own, would we have needed to travel in fear and tread so carefully all this way?"

Qingqing pursed her lips and retorted, "Wasn't I doing it for our Clear Wind Escort Agency? The Lin Family is paying us three thousand taels just to transport one weapon. What a great deal! Wouldn't we be losing out terribly if we refused it?"

"You really have no brains!"

Uncle Jin jabbed a finger at her head in frustration. "Why didn't you think about this? Such a good deal, and there are several escort agencies in Panyang City. Why wouldn't they take it? Why did it fall to a little girl like you? Your father was always extremely cautious in his work, yet you didn't inherit even a shred of his ability!"

Seeing this, the young escort guard who had spoken earlier hurriedly defended her. "Master, stop scolding Qingqing. She only did it for the good of our escort agency. Our agency has rarely gotten such a major order these past two years."

Uncle Jin sighed. "It is a major order, but it is also an order that could get us killed.

"The Lin Family has offended the Iron Garb Sect beyond all reconciliation. The two sides are practically locked in a blood feud that will end only with death.

"Look around all of Panyang City. Who would dare get involved with the Lin Family?

"Only you, without knowing the immensity of Heaven and Earth, dared accept the Lin Family's escort job."

"But Master, you didn't go back on it after finding out."

Another disciple muttered, only for Uncle Jin to smack him hard on the head.

"Nonsense! Can an escort job be reneged on after we've already taken the money? What is most important in our escort agency business? Credibility!

"Without credibility, why would anyone trust you enough to hand their goods over for escort?

"Our Clear Wind Escort Agency is already stuck in this position. If we go back on our word this time, our reputation will be utterly ruined, and we might as well close our doors for good!"

Uncle Jin sighed helplessly, feeling only exhaustion.

Back then, he and Qingqing's father had founded Clear Wind Escort Agency together, building a small escort agency step by step until it gained some renown in Panyang City.

Unfortunately, Qingqing's father and the agency's veteran escort guards had been ambushed and killed by bandits, greatly weakening Clear Wind Escort Agency. Aside from him, only a few inexperienced young people remained.

He had promised Qingqing's father that he would look after these children and keep the escort agency from disbanding, yet he had never expected these children to bring him such enormous trouble.

"We're nearly halfway through this journey. None of you had better cause any trouble. Only by honestly delivering the escort goods can we get through this ordeal.

"Venison, venison. I think you all look like venison! Eat properly, then get moving as soon as you're done!"

Uncle Jin scolded them quietly, ordered some ordinary dishes, and began stuffing himself heartily.

Even as he ate, he kept looking around.

After eating and drinking his fill, just as Uncle Jin was about to rest for a while before leaving, the post's front doors were suddenly shoved open with brute force.

Eight martial world travelers wearing Iron Conical Hats strode into Yellow Dragon Post.

These eight were dressed very strangely. The iron conical hats on their heads were extremely broad, nearly concealing their entire faces, and looked immensely heavy.

It was already late autumn, yet they wore only thin vests, exposing their chests and arms.

The exposed skin of their bodies had a blackish-gray metallic sheen. Their muscles bulged in knotted masses, making it obvious at a glance that their external cultivation was extremely profound.

Upon seeing these eight men, Uncle Jin's expression changed drastically. His hand trembled, and his chopsticks fell to the floor.

"The Iron Garb Sect!"